ABSTRACT:
Objective: Despite the fact that a restrictive use of
episiotomy has proven to be beneficial, it continues to be widely used in
vaginal births. Our aim was to compare women with episiotomy, to women with an
intact perineum, 3 months after delivery, regarding several sexual variables,
namely: sexual desire, arousal, orgasm, pain, sexual
satisfaction and sexual function. Methods: An exploratory, descriptive and quantitative study using a
non-probabilistic, convenience sample of 147 Portuguese women, of which 54
belonged to a control group, was performed. The groups were not significantly
different regarding socio-demographic aspects. Three instruments were used:
the Female Sexual Function Index, a Socio-demographic and Clinical
Questionnaire and the Female Sexual Function Questionnaire. Results: Most women
mentioned a moderate level of sexual
interest. Women with episiotomy present higher pain intensity, less
sexual satisfaction, greater changes regarding the orgasm’s duration and
intensity, lower levels of sexual arousal and total sexual function, than women
with intact perineum. Discussion: We found no significant differences between
women with episiotomy and women with an intact perineum in most variables.
However, women with episiotomy presented higher levels of pain and a lower
sexual satisfaction, being these significant differences.